Pfarrkirche hl. Maria Unbefleckte Empfängnis, Randegg

The Catholic parish church of St Mary Immaculate stands on the market square of Randegg, a small town in the Scheibbs district of Lower Austria. Built in the late Middle Ages, it was once a local pilgrimage site dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The church has been protected as a historic monument since the 20th century. The building shows layers of architectural history. The main choir dates from the early 1400s, while the nave, tower and sacristy were added half a century later. A Baroque chapel was added in the north in 1767, and the tower received its onion dome in the 19th century. Inside, a late-Gothic star-vaulted ceiling spans the nave, resting on half-columns set between buttresses. The neogothic high altar holds changeable reliefs by Max Oberhuber and J. Plohberger after designs by Josef Führich. Visitors enter through a pointed doorway with a painted tympanum showing a late-Gothic Crucifixion. The west tower, topped by a pointed onion dome dated 1821, rises above the steeply pitched roof. Inside, the nave’s star-vaulted ceiling and the polygonal choir with its net-ribbed vault draw the eye upward. The neogothic altar stands against the south wall, framed by four pairs of exchangeable reliefs. Outside, an enamel panel of the Immaculate Conception by Ingeborg Naske marks the church’s dedication.